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Pocky
From Virtual Japan
Pocky is a popular dessert confection in Japan as well as several other countries around the world. It is distributed by Ezaki Glico Company. It is named after the word for the sound it makes when you bite into it.
It is made of a small biscuit dipped in chocolate and other flavors. Despite its simple ingredients, Pocky became an instant hit the moment it hit the snack market.
History
Pocky was created in 1966. At the time, it was called “Chocotech,” but was quickly renamed to Pocky because of the “Pok” sound created when break the stick. Within 2 years of the original Pocky’s release, the product had already made 30 billion yen.
Due to the success of the chocolate Pocky, other flavors began to be released. By 1971, Glico had released an almond Pocky flavor, and by 1977, the still popular strawberry dipped Pocky was released.
Today, Pocky is not just available in Japan. It is also available around the world, including the United States where it is a popular confection in many Asian markets, mostly among individuals of Asian descent but also popular amongst individuals interested in Japanese culture. It has not, however, reached mainstream shelves in any of these areas.
Flavors
There have been a number of Pocky flavors in recent years, including variations of old flavors. In fact, with chocolate flavors alone, there have been 10 different variations released by the Glico Company. There have 24 different fruit and nut flavors including more well known flavors like Mango, Green Apple and Coconut but also some lesser known flavors like Honey White Almond and Café Au Lait.
Pocky also releases seasonal flavors, as well:
- Winter: “Melt In Mouth” (Fuyuno Kuchidoke) and “Purple Yam” (Murasaki Imo)
- Spring: Honey
- Summer: Kiwi Mango
- Fall: Cocoa Powder
There are also several regional flavors as well:
- Kobe – Kobe Wine
- Kyoto – Kyoto Tea Asuki Bean
- Nagano – Grape
- Hokkaido – Yubari Melon
- Kyushu – Giant Manderin Orange
Pocky also has several additional types of variations, including Mousse Pocky which is thicker and layered with various small stripes of different or complementing flavors, and Decorative Pocky that is equally thick with thick stripes of different flavors.